Since popping up in the late 1960s, Loudon Wainwright III has been a fixture on the folk scene. From early tunes likes 1973's "The Man Who Wouldn't Cry," a song later re-recorded by Johnny Cash, to recent work like High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, the musician has offered up a ton of quality tracks over the years. With that in mind, it's high time the songwriter gets his due, which explains the upcoming retrospective 40 Odd Years.
A press release explains that the five-disc set (four CDs and one DVD) will cover all periods of Wainwright's fabled career. This, of course, includes his renowned "Dead Skunk" single, which climbed to No. 16 on the pop charts in 1973. The song literally describes a roadkill scene, but was rumoured to be an attack on then U.S. president Richard Nixon. The tune is but one of 91 songs to feature on the massive collection.
In addition to the tunes, a DVD featuring a rare documentary from Dutch TV called One Man Guy, as well as live performances culled from Saturday Night Live and Austin City Limits, is included in the package. On top of that, a 40-page book comes with the collection. The tome includes an essay by renowned journalist/author David Wild, as well as an intro from esteemed comedy filmmaker and box set co-producer Judd Apatow, who worked with Wainwright on the short-lived 2001 TV series Undeclared.
40 Odd Years will be released May 3 on Shout! Factory. You can check out the full tracklisting here.
A press release explains that the five-disc set (four CDs and one DVD) will cover all periods of Wainwright's fabled career. This, of course, includes his renowned "Dead Skunk" single, which climbed to No. 16 on the pop charts in 1973. The song literally describes a roadkill scene, but was rumoured to be an attack on then U.S. president Richard Nixon. The tune is but one of 91 songs to feature on the massive collection.
In addition to the tunes, a DVD featuring a rare documentary from Dutch TV called One Man Guy, as well as live performances culled from Saturday Night Live and Austin City Limits, is included in the package. On top of that, a 40-page book comes with the collection. The tome includes an essay by renowned journalist/author David Wild, as well as an intro from esteemed comedy filmmaker and box set co-producer Judd Apatow, who worked with Wainwright on the short-lived 2001 TV series Undeclared.
40 Odd Years will be released May 3 on Shout! Factory. You can check out the full tracklisting here.